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442nd out of 1,174 books
—
4,761 voters
White Jenna (Great Alta #2)
by
Jane Yolen
World Fantasy Award for Best Novel
ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Book Two of the Great Alta Saga
Jenna was the White Queen.
Skada was the Dark Queen. She is bound to Jenna—the other half of Jenna’s self. Drawn out of a mirror by a rite of magic, a “dark sister” is confined to the dark. She vanishes in daylight. It is in this other world the dark sisters wait for moonlight or
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ALA Best Books for Young Adults
Book Two of the Great Alta Saga
Jenna was the White Queen.
Skada was the Dark Queen. She is bound to Jenna—the other half of Jenna’s self. Drawn out of a mirror by a rite of magic, a “dark sister” is confined to the dark. She vanishes in daylight. It is in this other world the dark sisters wait for moonlight or
Paperback, 272 pages
Published
January 5th 2004
by Tor Teen
(first published August 28th 1990)
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I read this and "Sister Light, Sister Dark" along with "The One Armed Queen" several years ago after finding them both in a second hand bookstore and they've all stuck with me. The story that Jane Yolen weaves is both magical and exciting beautiful. The story is told in three parts: First is the historical "sources" and theories written like evidence gathered from experts and historians and the like. The second is the lore, stories, songs and poetry passed from generation to generation written i...more
I enjoyed this story, especially the way it was structured - each section told through "myth", "ballad", "song", "prophecy", "legend", "history", and "story" according to Yolen's whim, and the unfolding of the plot. I especially enjoyed the voice that the "history" sections were written in; the writer's clear distaste and even disgust at those who would allow any truth to the events of myths and legends. His - at least, I read his voice as male - outrage and petulant whining at the end of the bo...more
I found the characters and story to be rather "meh," but the mode of storytelling to be fantastic! I read both books simply because I loved the format of "The Story," "The Legend," "The Myth," "The Song," or "The History." It's absolute genius. As a historian I couldn't help but be amused by the historical articles interspersed throughout the novel. I highly recommend White Jenna for this alone! Of course the world building was also quite fun...but the way the story is told definitely takes the...more
A great sequel - my only complaint is that I would have liked to see more from some of the characters. Pynt does not really take part in the story, and I would like to know more about Skada. The cast of characters set up in Sister Light, Sister Dark were so good I felt cheated when I didn't hear enough about them! Still, White Jenna was hard to put down and I enjoyed the ride. Should have been a much longer novel, though!
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I didn't become quite as engrossed in this book as I did in the first, but I still enjoyed this adventure very much. Yolen shows her mastery of the craft as she effectively changes tone as she switches from telling the myth, story, history, legend, tale, song and ballad. She can write anything! I'm looking forward to the last book in the Great Alta Saga.
I didn't know this was book two of a series, so I found it a little dull and confusing. It was hard to get into their elaborate world. But I bet the first book explained it all so that was my bad.
I was disappointed in the way things worked out. After all the hype regarding the prophecy, it was very anti-climactic. It seemed like a pretty fast and sloppy wrap-up.
Jan 19, 2011
Jenna
marked it as to-read
I have to read it, my name is Jenna!
It's good, I just haven't been able to stick with it as I should.
I enjoyed it better than the first book.
Classic Jane Yolen! Great story.
Sequel to Sister Light, Sister Dark. And just as good. Strong female lead. Good storytelling, which is to be expected from Jane Yolen.
Sadly not quite as good as the first book.
Nice story, for a younger audience.
Jun 17, 2013
Elissa
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Jun 12, 2013
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Jun 10, 2013
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Jun 10, 2013
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Jun 06, 2013
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Yolen was born at Beth Israel Hospital, the first child of Isabel Berlin and Will Hyatt Yolen. She and her family moved to California when she was young but returned to New York a few years later. After her younger brother was born, her father joined the army and served on the European front during WWII. Yolen spent her childhood taking piano lessons, ballet dancing and writing a neighborhood news...more
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